It started as far as I can remember in early spring, about March, I think.
I was going to the local Walmart to pickup a couple things I was running low on in the kitchen. Just a few things, in and out in a couple minutes. I got out of the car and something ran past me in a flash, I jumped like I was shot and landed in the garbage filled flower bed between rows of cars. I thought it had been a rat but raising up on one elbow I saw the thing make a quick circle and come right back at me. Crazy thing was it wasn’t a rat or anything like I’d ever seen before, I could see right through it, it was like a gray mist, no real shape like an animal or even having an outline, just gray mist and moving fast. I threw up my arm covering my face as it hit; soft, sickly moist, nasty smelling, I gaged.
The attack lasted maybe fifteen seconds; maybe less. I was on my feet and in the car slamming the door as fast as I could get up out of the dank flowerbed. Must have been ten people staring at me as I started the car and flew out of the parking lot.
I was shaking so hard I had to stop the car and calm down or risk crashing. I pulled into the parking lot of an auto parts store and just closed my eyes for a minute. A tap at the window, I screamed so loud it hurt my own ears; my eyes flew wide; I screamed again. A poor little old man was backing up from the car waving his hands in front of him, making a quick escape. I looked in the mirror; what a mess, tears rolling down my face, makeup everywhere, I even had leaves and bark dust in my hair. No wonder the poor guy was trying to see if I was alright, I just sat there and bawled.
Over the next few days things calmed down, I decided I had a vivid imagination and let it go as some strange thing that now, with a little time passing just didn’t seem like such a big deal. I was still shaken but you have to get on with your life. I had work and a home to take care of along with cooking, cleaning and all that normal life stuff, so it just kind of slipped away.
About mid-June a Saturday, sunny and warm, I made a run down to the nursery at the bottom of the hill to pick up some seeds and a couple flowering plants for the front porch. I parked and slowly wound my way towards the little Office area where garden tools and the seeds were stored. As I stepped out of the bright sunlight under the overhead lattice work surrounding the little building I glanced back towards the parking lot, nothing, I could have sworn I’d seen movement around the back of the cars parked there. Nope, nothing, but as I turned my head back towards the Office door again, I saw movement but at the very far corner of my side vision. I snapped my head back to the movement, gone. “Okay this is getting crazy!” I said under my breath as a cold chill ran up my spine “OH HELL no not again.” this time not so quiet. My Walmart fright exploded in my head; it was all I could do not to run into the Office screaming my head off. I took a deep breathe and very slowly turned my head towards the parked cars straining to see out of the corner of my eyes. Turning, turning, sure enough I started being able to see moving objects, moving along right to left behind the cars down the little slope towards the street. They moved like a covey of quail, one after another quickly with purpose. If I turned to use more of my normal center of the eye vision they’d just fade away and turning more they’d disappear. Going back to more into the far side vision gray puffs of smoke were clear and moving fast down the hill towards the street.
I hurried into the Office.
I grabbed a few packets of seeds not really knowing what they were, totally forgot to buy the plants for the porch and threw money at the poor clerk. I slowly wound my way towards my car sweeping my head side to side like a mine sweeper only using my far side vision. I must have looked like a crazy woman; I jumped into my car and took the long way out of the parking lot away from the direction the little gray puffs had headed. “This is starting to get crazy” I seem to be talking to my self often now.
I see the gray things now nearly everywhere I go, mostly around crowds of people, at the mall, super market, bus stops. I'm getting to where I can nearly look right at them now, seems with practice they are getting clearer with my center vision, not quiet in the center but close enough that now I can pretty much look just off to the side and see them if they are around. Creepy gray puffs of smoke darting this way and that; running up to people then following others in little groups in the crazy quail covey way, one after another tightly packed in a little line. Gives me a chill. I’ve found if I watch them too closely, they become interested in me and I have to look away and become busy hoping they find someone more to their liking, if not they come up to you and test you by climbing up next to you, bumping you, you can smell them. No matter how bad it gets you have to ignore them, they’ve lost interest in me so far. I have to be more careful around them.
It's late August and the weather is smoldering hot, not a breath of air. I parked my car just off of down town and have been enjoying the pedestrian area of the down town area. It’s hot so I take a seat in the shade and watch as people window shop. The gray puffs are everywhere in numbers I haven’t seen before. They aren’t hopping on people or following, they are massed in and around one business, must be a thousand of them. They are crawling up the sides of the building and pushing to get near the entrance. My mouth must be hanging open at the sight. “Graylings are wound tight” I jump. “They get that way when something bad is going to happen.” I was so intent on watching the swarm I didn’t notice a man had sat next to me, close. He was nearly whispering in my ear. I look him in the eye our faces close. “Graylings, that’s what they are called?” a moment “You can see them too?” He turned and looked back at the Graylings. “Yep, I’ve been able to see them my whole life, scares you as a kid.” “Careful, they know me and the swarm knows I can see them, they watch me very closely.” “They’ll kill you if you press them much, I’ve had some close calls.” He turns his eyes back my way; I see they are filled with sadness. “What do they want at that store?” His tired eyes look at mine. “They are there for the pain and death that’s coming. They feed on it as far as I can tell.” His eyes turn back to the Graylings. “We have to go; I don’t want to see this and we are way too close to what’s going to happen here. Nothing I or you can do.”
He stands and puts out his hand to me. “Please I’d hate to have anything happen to you, by their numbers I’d say it’s going to be big and soon.”
I take his hand, it’s hot but comforting, it’s been years since I held the hand of a man and this man is special. We leave the down town area walking slowly but with intent to put distance between us and the down town area, my car forgotten.
The blast was tremendous shaking the ground, dust fell from the branches overhead. I screamed; he took my hand again and squeezed it tight. “You’ll have to try to get use to it, I can’t but I hope you have more luck than me, it’s the only way to survive this knowing.” We walked on.
From the Ramblings
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